Tasslehoff Burrfoot
Tasslehoff Burrfoot (often called Tas) was born in Kendermore. His parents are unknown and he has few known relatives. He has a sister, and also claims (like many other kender) to have an Uncle Trapspringer. He has three uncles, by the names of Remo Lockpick, Bertie, and Wilfre. He also has a cousin, Latchlifter Furrfoot. Tas was just a bit under four feet tall. He had a slight build and slender, pointed ears. He also had brown hair and brown eyes. His hair is always tied into a topknot, which most kender have and are extremely fond of. Like all kender, Tas hated being bored, and on the occasion that he was, he was known to begin talking about meaningless things to anyone who would listen. Biography Early life As a child, Tas's passion for maps began. He enjoyed collecting them and putting them all over the walls of his room. However, when he drew maps, his short patience led him to draw them inaccurately and often made up names for certain places on Ansalon. While he often stole things, he always claimed he wasn't a thief, often saying he was just borrowing the objects in question, a behaviour typical to kender, who as a species steadfastly, and with some indignation, maintain they do not steal, but "find" things that "just happen" to have been left out, or fallen into their pouches. When he was in Solace, he found a ring dropped by a thief. It was dubbed "Tas's Ring of Teleportation", and he began a wild journey across Krynn, ending up in all sorts of places. However, he ended his travels at Magus's Tower, where he aided Demogorgon in an attempt to stop Magus from using demons, and departed, entrusting Magus to the Prince of Demons. Outside of Solace, while Tas was traveling, he encountered Tanis and Flint. He asked to be their friends; they declined. Tas, upon leaving Solace, acquired a bracelet that Flint made for Selena Sonluanaau. This bracelet saved Tas from a spider, and it saved a merchant as well. Tanis and Flint came to collect the bracelet, however Tas no longer had it. Selena arrived and charged them with finding the bracelet, and so the quest began. On the trail of the bracelet, they were waylaid by satyrs, who made them stop, dance, and drink while the satyrs played music for a whole day. Upon arriving in Tantallon, Flint and Tanis are captured by the local lord. Selena and Tas take a polymorph potion that turns them into birds to get into the castle, then they become mice to retrieve the bracelet. They then free Tanis and Flint, the bracelet is returned to Selena, and Tas leaves with Flint and Tanis. Tasslehoff then joined the remaining Companions and they began adventuring. Tas was involved in Flint's near drowning episode; Tas helped to get Flint ashore. When Tas was on a quest for a special herb that Raistlin needed, along with Sturm and Caramon, he was captured by minotaurs. Tasslehoff made a major appearance in the Legends Trilogy as a character to retrieve Caramon from his drunken stupor. Back to Kendermore When the companions separated, Tas had no intention of leaving his friends but a bounty hunter came to arrest him and bring him back to Kendermore because he had to get married to Damaris Metwinger. His journey to Kendermore was forced upon him, by saying that his Uncle Trapspringer was arrested until Tas will come and marry. On the way Tas was kidnapped by two gnomes, whose Life-Quest was to stuff every creature alive. He was rescued by a wooly mammoth he released. He was then kidnapped by a half-orc named Denzil, who needed a map of Tas' to find a treasure located in The Ruins. When he reached The Ruins, he entered a dimension where his Uncle Trapspringer and Damaris were. They escaped, along with the other kender caught there. Takhisis, finding an open portal, tried to enter the world, but they closed the portal before she could get out. In revenge, she asked her son, Nuitari, to cause natural disasters on Kendermore. When Tas and the rest arrived in Kendermore, it was burning. However, thanks to Tas' leadership, they extinguished the fire. At the end Damaris decided to marry Trapspringer, thus freeing Tas from his obligation. War of the Lance Tas helped his companions on many occasions during the war, mainly due to his lack of fear and extreme curiosity of everything. While these qualities are usually no more than a nuisance, they often help the Companions in some way or another. Tas takes his part in the war by riding a dragon with Flint during one of the final battles. During the War of the Lance, Tasslehoff thoroughly enjoyed many Near Death Experiences. In a draconian army encampment, he nearly died in a burning wicker dragon. In the city of Tarsis the Beautiful, he nearly died by a burning building falling on top of him. In the Temple of the Dark Queen in Neraka, Tasslehoff is poisoned by a trap sprung by a picked lock. He is later healed by Raistlin. After the War After the war Tasslehoff splits up with the other Companions of the Lance, with the intention of going back to Kendermore. Worlds Afire ... Legends Tasslehoff was sent by Tika Majere to help Caramon escort Crysania to the Tower of High Sorcery. Anxious to keep his promise to protect Caramon and not miss out on any adventures, Tasslehoff, having been transformed into a mouse, manages to sneak into the laboratory of Par-Salian as he is casting the time traveling spell. Tasslehoff runs into the middle of the spell and gets transported back in time with Caramon. Since the creation of kender was accidental, kender possessed the ability to alter the flow of time. Through Tasslehoff's interference, Raistlin (as Fistandantilus) is able to change the past and successfully enter the Abyss to challenge Takhisis along with the Paladine cleric Crysania. Caramon and Tas, traveling back in time, end up in 358 instead of 356, discovering an alternate time line in which Raistlin has become a god, and the world is going to end. Armed with this knowledge, they go back in time again to 356, planning to stop Raistlin. Caramon orders Tas to save Tanis. Tas, knowing that Caramon will die if he tries to enters the Shoikan Grove, saves Tanis, and with his help, Tas saves Caramon. He then helps them when they capture the Flying Citadel, and controls it until the end of the war, when he gives it to Rounce. After hearing Crysania's eulogy for Elistan, he leaves to Tanis' castle with Tanis and Caramon. Chaos War In order to force Chaos to part or remain on Krynn, the gods needed Chaos's blood, and so, at the end of the Chaos War Tasslehoff insulted Chaos, making the deity careless. Tasslehoff then ran up and stabbed Chaos in his big toe with a magical knife Caramon Majere had dubbed "Rabbitslayer". The resulting spurt of blood was enough of Chaos' essence to be used to force the deity into a choice - stay in the world and be forced to continually control himself (which Chaos had little patience for), or leave. Chaos decided to leave, but while he was leaving, he stomped on Tasslehoff, seemingly killing Tasslehoff, but leaving his items. War of Souls Before Tasslehoff was killed by Chaos, he used the magical time traveling device to go forward in time to speak at Caramon's funeral. The first time he attempted to attend the funeral, he arrived too late. On another attempt at arriving at the correct time, he managed to speak briefly. After this event, Tasslehoff went back, unintentionally, to a different time and participated in the War of Souls . There he met the knight Gerard, and the two embarked on a journey to Qualinesti to find the mage Palin Majere before separating. The third timeline he ever entered was the only one in which the Great Dragons reached Ansalon. By simply existing in this timeline that wasn't his own he was a danger to Takhisis. He was proof that her power wasn't absolute and inspired some individuals. Moreover, if he was slain in a time not his own, the result would be oblivion. Thus, he was unsuccessfully hunted by the dark knight Mina. He was trapped for a time in the Tower of High Sorcery with the mages Palin and Dalamar, both of which wanted to send him back to die by using the Device of Time Journeying. However, the device had been broken earlier. Since he did not want to die, he fled with the device, which was later fixed by the gnome Conundrum. He traveled through several various times throughout history before he returned to the War of Souls. Shortly after, he helped Gerard, Odila, and Mirror to free the metallic dragons from their prison. After this he agreed to go back in time and get stepped on by Chaos, as he was supposed to, thus returning to his normal time-stream. As he was leaving, he reminded Gerard that the lock on his tomb (which he had picklocked), was broken and needed repair. Overall he helped move the events of the War of Souls on very much and played an important role. Biography While travelling during his wanderlust (a time of the Kender's natural lifecycle, which gives them an insatiable urge of traveling), Tas ended up in Solace with one of Flint Fireforge's metalworking pieces in his pouches. Tanis caught the Kender, and the three became friends for the remainder of their lives. Always fearless and able to look on the bright side of any situation, Tas was never at a loss for telling a good story to anyone who might listen. Tas was killed in the battle with Chaos during the chaos War. Before his death, Tas managed to stab Chaos in the foot, causing him to bleed and allowing Usha to catch a drop of his blood in the Greygem of Gargath, which proved to be the key to defeating him. Tasslehoff did so with the small dagger which Caramon had dubbed "Rabbitslayer". "Rabbitslayer" was Tasslehoff's pride and joy, he claimed it to have magnificent magical properties, but because of the nature of kender, no one ever believed him (Weis and Hickman have confirmed that it's an artifact and does much more damage than its size would indicate). Which makes his slaying of the ultimate being in Dragonlance lore with it a comical irony. Tasslehoff is honored at the Last Heroes' Tomb. However, Paladine allowed Tasslehoff to go forward in time to speak at Caramon Majere's funeral. Tasslehoff used the time travel machine just before being stomped by Chaos. Due to Takhisis' intrusion, Tas ended in an alternate future. A succession of events lead him to meet Palin Majere and Laurana Kanan, and with their help ended the War of Souls. Accepting his fate, he went back in time and let himself be killed by Chaos, restoring the flow of time. With the Heroes of the Lance, he found peace with his friends. Coincidentally, many kender claim to have an Uncle Tas during the Fifth Age. Personality Tas, like all kender of the Dragonlance series, could be compared to a 5-year old child; he is utterly irresponsible in any task that is not of the utmost importance, and often takes things that do not belong to him, which to a kender is "borrowing" and not stealing. Kender do not consider themselves to be thieves, and can become quite indignant when accused of stealing. They believe in sharing all that they have, and a common custom between two kender is to dump the entire contents of their pouches and exchange things. To kender, a family heirloom is something that has been in their possession for more than three weeks. Like all kender, Tas is completely without fear for himself. However, Tas is different from other kender in that he does know fear, not for himself, but for the people that he cares about. He is even immune to dragonfear, but the Shoikan Grove's piercing aura of fear managed to break through and affect him, though he didn't recognize the feeling. The Death Knight, Lord Soth, gave him the same feeling. He is also fiercely loyal to his friends, has enough sense (largely thanks to lecturing from Tanis Half-Elven) to avoid overly dangerous situations, and above all, has a conscience in the form of Flint Fireforge's voice. Appearance Tasslehoff is often described as resembling a twelve-year old child; he is of that general height and build. His face has many wrinkles that appear whenever he smiles, which is often. His clothes are always described as colorful, comfortable, and utterly unmatching. His most famous article of clothing was his fur-lined vest, worn through much of the War of Lance. Like all of his race, he carries a good number of pouches, which he never takes off, except just prior to his death at the hands of Chaos, so that he could run faster (see Chaos War). Also like all of his race, he has a ludicrously large topknot, which is to a kender what a beard is to a dwarf. He also embodies the statement in many of the novels, the single most dangerous thing in all of Krynn is to hear a Kender say "oops". See also *Kendermore Category:Characters Category:Kender Category:Heroes of the Lance